Cooking with Honey

Celebrate the sweet new year in style.

Traditionally we eat honey from Rosh Hashanah through Sukkot to symbolize a sweet new year. Apples dipped in honey are of course the most common and easiest version of this custom but I like to use honey in all different ways to bring sweet flavors throughout the meal. Don’t worry, lots of traditional apple and honey cake recipes are coming, but here are a few great ideas and great dishes that will help you celebrate a sweet new year.

Place the chicken in a large plastic bag or baking dish and cover with the marinade.

Toss to combine and place in the refrigerator, turning frequently, to marinate at least 6 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium-low or about 325 F or preheat the oven to 350 degress.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade, and grill the chicken, until brown, about 12-15 minutes. Flip over, and grill an additional 8 – 10 minutes or until cooked through., basting with the marinade while cooking. Alternatively, bake the chicken in the marinade for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until chicken is browned and cooked through and the juices run clear. You can also use a grill pan, and grill the chicken on a grill pan.

If you are grilling the chicken, place the leftover marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat to medium and simmer until slightly thick, about 10-15 minutes.

Arrange the chicken on a platter, and spoon the reduced marinade on top.

Honey Braised Short Ribs

Serves 6

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 – 5 pounds short ribs

2 cups celery, small dice

1 cup shallots, chopped coarsely

5 crushed cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of honey

1/4 cup of cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard

2 tablespoons of ketchup

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce (non-fish type)

4 cups of beef stock

Black pepper to taste

Kosher salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large skillet over high heat, heat oil. When oil is hot, sear the short ribs until well browned on all sides. Reduce flame to low and remove the short ribs to a plate.

Pour out all but two tablespoons of fat remaining in the skillet. Add celery and cook over medium low heat for about 4 minutes.

Add shallots and garlic. Continue cooking over low heat until all the vegetables are nicely translucent and the garlic is soft, about 4 minutes.

Add all the remaining ingredients except for the beef stock and bring up to a boil.

Place short ribs back into the pan along with any juices that have collected. Add enough beef broth to come three quarters of the way up the short ribs. Bring to a boil and then transfer to oven.

Cook for 1 ½ – 2 hours, or until meat is about to fall off the bone.

Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.

Strawberry Honey Orange Sorbet

Serves 4

½ cup apple juice

1 pint strawberries, sliced

¼ cup orange juice concentrate, frozen

2 tablespoons orange liqueur, optional

1/3 cup honey

In a blender combine apple juice, strawberries, orange juice, orange liqueur, and honey. Puree until smooth. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour puree into a shallow dish and freeze for 1 hour. Remove from freezer and blend again. Refreeze until ready to serve.

Honey Challah

Makes 2 loaves, but can be doubled

3 packages rapid rise yeast

3½ cups hi-gluten flour

1/4 cup warm water

3 large eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

For the glaze:

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix the yeast with 1/2 cup of the flour and 1 teaspoon sugar. Add the warm water, stir, and let this mixture, called a sponge, sit until it starts to puff up, 15-to 20-minutes. Add the eggs, oil, honey, and salt; stir until well combined. The sponge will remain lumpy—this is fine. Add the remaining flour and mix the dough in the bowl until all the ingredients are combined. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until fairly smooth, about 2 minutes. The dough should feel very firm and will be hard to knead. If it’s soft and sticky, add more flour until it’s very firm. Transfer the dough to a large, clean container and cover it well. Let it rise until doubled in bulk and very soft to the touch, about 2 hours.

Braid and let rise an additional 1 – 2 hours.

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Make the glaze by whisking with a fork, the egg, honey and vanilla. Just before baking, brush the dough with the glaze. With a thin wooden skewer, poke the bread deeply all over (the holes will prevent air pockets and help the bread keep its shape during baking). Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the challah 180 degrees and bake until the bread is a dark, burnished brown, about another 15 minutes. (If the challah is browning too rapidly cover it loosely with foil and let it finish baking. Don’t remove the loaf too soon, as you’ll risk underbaking.) Let cool thoroughly on a rack.

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About the Author

Elizabeth Kurtz is the creator of gourmetkoshercooking.com and columnist for the Jerusalem Post, Aish.com, and other national magazines. She is a featured chef on videos for Recipe Box TV on aol.com and yahoo.com. She is passionate about food and entertaining and loves teaching cooking classes. Her first cookbook titled, CELEBRATE, food, family, shabbos is in stores now, on Amazon.com and "celebrates", 200 original recipes easy enough for everyday and special enough for Shabbos or any holiday. She can be reached at ekurtz@gourmetkoshercooking.com